Broken
by Difficult-notImpossible
Summary: Sometimes falling in love... with the last person you expected...is the only option... No slash
1. Chapter 1

**Well, here it is... my first Big Time Rush fanfiction.... Enjoy :)**

**-Nessa**

* * *

She had always been a dreamer.

There are all different kinds of people in the world. Creators, destroyers, dreamers, realists, no one is the same when it comes to imagination.

She grew up with her head in the clouds, always making up random stories with magical creatures and odd shapes. She didn't need her parents to read her bedtime stories; they were too boring for her liking. Instead, she spent her time before bed entertaining her family with the latest tale she had come up with, and sometimes it wasn't always a princess getting rescued by her Prince Charming from a high, far away tower. That was never the case, actually.

Her English teachers loved her. Each and every one of them. Most of them only assigned creative writing homework just to read and see what she could come up with in only one night. While most kids turned in a paper scribbled from front to back, she would hand in clumps of papers neatly written and stapled, the idea she was to write on highlighted at the top of the first page.

No one ever saw her without a pencil in her hair, within reach for whenever she felt like jotting something down. Anything and everything around her inspired another story, and she would fill journal after journal after journal with creative words and dialogue.

She could never remember when the exact age she started writing was. It had just become such a big part of her that it seemed almost natural for her to just take out a pencil and scribble down groups of words that sounded perfect as they flowed together easily. As she matured, so did her writing, and by the ago of thirteen she was writing full on novels, causing her parents to buy her a laptop so that she wouldn't keep wasting money on more journals.

Soon not only was she writing stories, but songs as well. Teaching herself the ways of the piano, the house was soon flooded with beautiful compositions accompanied by an enchanting, soothing melodic voice. Not only had writing become her life, but music too.

Family nights were spent by the piano in the living room, surrounded by the family she loved, singing classics while teaching them her own creations. Her grandfather said that she had great potential, and that it wouldn't surprise him when he saw her name printed all over newspapers and flashing on every television screen in Florida.

She was everything. Beautiful, funny, energetic, adventurous, creative, talented, loving, raised by a loving family. She was the one who always had the beautiful white smile on her face, even as her parents separated, as her family was slowly falling apart.

She made it her job to be the glue, to keep everyone together. Being a dedicated, headstrong individual, she assumed she could do everything. Control everything. Be able to handle everything.

But slowly, people started to notice that the smile was dimming. Her bright green eyes were slowly becoming a dark emerald, clouded with sadness. Her face no longer glowed, and her beauty was hid under a dark hood.

The music stopped. The old piano in the living room sat there for years to collect large amounts of dust. The pencil disappeared from her hair, and her stories were never the same.

No new files were added to her hard drive, and eventually she found herself sitting with her laptop on her lap in the middle of the night, a blank document before her, the small vertical line blinking, begging her to type something. But her fingers never found the right keys. Her brain never formed the right words.

She had disappeared, along with her creativity and imagination. All that was left of her was a beautiful ghost, gliding along through life.

Her mother worried, and her father inquired, but she barely ever answered truthfully.

Her family hadn't seen a real smile in years, never heard a genuine laugh. The beautiful harmonies she created were never heard of again, closed off from the outside world. The closest she had ever gone to singing once more was humming her favorite lullaby from her favorite movie. _Their_ favorite movie. She soon found the dancing bears with painted wings impossible, only a sign of what she believed in so long ago. The phrase "Once Upon a December" had become only words to her, the promise no longer meaning anything.

And yet, she still found the melody to be echoing in her head, making its way to her vocal cords, forcing the hum out of her. She let it take over, and she invited the only memory of one she loved so dearly to overwhelm her being.

* * *

It was just a regular day in Florida. Hot, humid, and tiring. She came home with a heavy backpack full of books, pondering over what she was possibly going to do about her English homework. She had already missed four assignments, and if she wanted to pass the class she was going to have to write _something_.

Tossing her bag to one side, she made her way to the kitchen to grab something to eat. As usual, she paid no attention to where she was going, her mind thousands of miles away, trying to come up with something.

Her foot collided with a box.

Pulling herself back to earth, she looked down, coming in contact with a regular dull brown box, open and full of books and picture frames. She could've sworn that the same exact pictures were sitting on the coffee table over the weekend.

That's when she noticed that there were more boxes. All over the place. Closed and piled on top of each other in the corners, open and on the kitchen table, waiting with an open mouth to envelope more belongings.

"Oh, hi honey," she looked up to see her mother standing in the doorway of her bedroom, another box in her hand. Her hair was wrapped up in a red bandana, casual and comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt.

"What's going on?" she questioned at once.

"What do you mean?" her mom stalled, setting the box down on the kitchen counter and taking a swig from a bottle of water. "Oh, the boxes?"

She nodded, her eyebrows raised.

"Oh, um… we're moving." Her mom said in a rush, not meeting her daughter's surprised gaze, grabbing the box and moving among the house grabbing random things and packing them carefully.

"What do you mean 'we're moving'?" she repeated, following the woman around the house, hoping that this was some sick joke. "We can't move, Mom. We've lived here since I was five. We can't…"

"The house is in foreclosure, Haydelynn." Her mother interrupted her, sighing.

She froze. "What?"

"I can't afford the mortgage anymore, honey. After getting fired from work, I found that there wasn't enough money to feed you and keep the roof over your head."

"So where are you planning on going?" she demanded, crossing her arms.

"I have a friend in California; she said she might be able to get me a job there."

"_Might_? So we're moving across the country, even though you don't even know if you'll be able to get a job?"

"I'm going to get the job, baby, and when I do, we'll be able to get a discount on the rent of the apartments there." Her mother promised, packing more things.

"How long do we have?" Haydelynn sighed.

"A week, I already talked to your school, so that way you can stay here and help me pack."

Well that solves the whole English paper dilemma.

* * *

The last thing Carlos Garcia expected was to be in a boy band.

One minute, he was one of four hockey players from Minnesota, and the next, he was in a recording studio getting yelled at by Gustavo Rocque.

No one ever really understood what the meaning of the constant helmet wearing was for. Even when living in Minnesota, that helmet was practically glued to his head. Back then it was for the love of the game.

He had always been the crazy one. The one that was usually getting in trouble for destroying something. He ran into everything, he broke anything, and he could always make up some kind of new game with a random subject.

Most people thought of him to be the stupid one, but Carlos Garcia was _not_ stupid. He just loved having fun, and you can't always be graceful when you mess up. Though sometimes he had his moments… like jumping into a pool with a non-waterproof camera, or stuffing his face in a pie in the middle of class. But everyone had their moments right?

Right.

That's the solution he eventually came up to as he climbed out of the pool, fully dressed, his clothes seeming to weigh much more than they actually did.

Above him, Kendall, James, and Logan laughed as he removed his helmet, a new pool of water splashing down on his head.

"Yeah, you guys are hilarious. Very funny." The Latino rolled his eyes, snatching a towel from a chair and trying his best to dry off so he could go inside without being yelled at.

* * *

**Hope you liked it! Please R&R!**


	2. Chapter 2

Many questions surround our lives.

Where do we actually come from? Why are we the way we are? Why are there rules when we have free will? Why don't all of us have special talents?

Questions are probably the number one way that people usually form a sentence these days. Whether they were asking about what they were going to do, how they looked, what was going on, or what they wanted to know when they didn't understand something. Many people have logical, meaningful questions, but some people ask such ridiculous questions that you sometimes wonder what the hell was actually going on in their head.

The question being asked at this time was one no one could particularly answer easily.

What could four seventeen year old boys do in a famous Californian hotel that would involve competition, fun, and the feeling of being on top of the world when winning this competition?

Two words.

Scavenger. Hunt.

"Alright boys," Katie spoke, handing each of the four band members a simple sheet of paper. "Here's your list of items. There are fifty items on the list, all of which were scattered by me throughout the Palm Woods. In order to find the items, you will be told where the next item is located." Each boy nodded their heads in understanding, eyes filled with determination, preparing themselves for the intense race.

Kendall Knight read through his list, trying to memorize the items, giving him more time to search. Logan Mitchell calculated the conclusion that by comparing the fastest runner's speed to his own (which, in this case, would have been Carlos, considering the fact that he won the last race around the Palm Woods.) and increased his own speed by at least ten percent; he just might be able to win. James Diamond fixed the bandana tied in his hair and hoped he looked good, not caring about the fact that he only had a couple of minutes for a game plan. Carlos Garcia was paying close attention and thinking where the most obvious places some items would be hidden in, adjusting the strap of his famous black hockey helmet.

"The one who meets me in the lobby with the most collected item wins free fruit smoothies for a month." Katie finished, reaching for her small red flag and waving it out in front of the boys. "Ready, set, go!"

And the boys were off in all different directions. James and Kendall went for the elevators while Carlos and Logan raced to the stairs. The first item was said to be located on the fifth floor in one of the storage closet.

It would take about ten minutes to find each item without distractions, with distractions about fifteen. There were fifty items on the list.

This was going to be a long scavenger hunt.

Snickering evilly, Katie shook her head and threw herself down on the couch with her laptop and worked on her advice blog. Today's topic: gullible teenage boys.

* * *

Palm Trees. Tan skin. Sunshine. Limos.

She was used to that. Growing up in South Florida, she had seen all of that before, if not grown up alongside them.

Of course, she was more than used to the heat of summer form Florida, so it was no surprise when she stepped out into the open air of Los Angeles and was faced with bright sunshine and heat. There was a bonus though: no humidity, which meant that she didn't feel like she was swallowing a full cup of water when inhaling the oxygen around her.

But even though Florida and California did have their similarities, she found that California was a whole different deal.

Everything was so _different_. From the palm trees, to the buildings, to the people walking on the streets. She felt ridiculous, like an outsider, as she stared up at Los Angeles' famous landmarks, her eyes wide and curious.

California was great and all…

But she really wanted to go home.

And it didn't help when her mother drove their rental car into the last place she wanted to go.

Looking around the parking lot, her jaw clenched and her eyes burned with anger when she saw the sign of the building in front of her. Her annoyance with her mother skyrocketed, and she climbed out of the car and into her new, very unwanted life.

Her mom stood by the trunk of the car, waiting for Haydelynn come help her get the bags.

Haydelynn ignored her, crossing her arms and glaring at the sign above her, mocking her with its fancy, gold letters.

"_Palm Woods." _

Now she understood.

Her mother could have picked anywhere else to work. Hell, she could have easily applied for a job at a local Publix, but no, right after being fired from her job, she took it as a chance to move to Los Angeles out of any other city in the world.

And she was planning on getting a job at the _Palm Woods_ out of all the hotel/apartment buildings in California?

Yeah, that wasn't suspicious at all….

Her mother suddenly appeared beside her, and she hugged her daughter excitedly. "Can you believe it? The _Palm Woods!"_

"No, actually," she snapped, avoiding her mom's gaze. "I can't believe you brought me to the _Palm Woods_, Mom."

Her mother's face fell. "What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Haydelynn muttered.

Trying to hide her hurt expression, her mother shut her mouth and pulled Haydelynn along by the hand.

Entering the _Palm Woods_ was probably the worst decision she ever made, Haydelynn knew that.

"Hello," she followed her mom to the front desk, where a fat man with glasses was standing, eating a sandwich the size of her head. As soon as he saw the people standing in front of him, the sandwich was thrown out of his hand and into the trashcan beneath him.

"Welcome to the _Palm Woods_!" he boomed overdramatically, causing a flinch from Haydelynn. "I'm Mr. Bitters, the manager of the _Palm Woods_. How may I help you today?"

"I'm Evelynn Ramirez; this is my daughter Haydelynn… I'm here to apply for the job as assistant manager?"

Mr. Bitters' smile faltered, but he was able to keep it in place. "Of course, come with me."

Evelynn smiled and followed the fat man towards where the elevators were. Haydelynn stood there awkwardly, a scowl on her face, her arms crossed.

"Where are we going?" Evelynn asked.

"You're going to be interviewed by the Board Manager to see if you can get the job. We've already received your application, and the boss thinks you have great potential." Mr. Bitters answered.

"What are we going to do with my daughter?"

"She can just walk around and explore. Your interview will be over around eight thirty, so we will meet her back here in the lobby at that time. We'll be on the fifth floor in case of anything."

Evelynn turned to face her daughter. "Did you hear that?"

Haydelynn sighed and nodded.

Evelynn smiled a bit turned her back, leaving her teenage daughter to face the new world of California alone.

* * *

He found it extremely fun, running around the _Palm Woods_ on the search for stupid little objects that would never come to any use. Even though he knew that the race was ridiculous, who could turn down free fruit smoothies for a month?

Not Carlos.

He was on his last object by now, and he was sure that he would win again. Frantically, he racked his brain trying to figure out where he could find a purple Spork.

He smacked his head, feeling stupid. The Lobby!

Jumping into the elevator, he jabbed the button with the big "L" on it, ready for his challenge.

* * *

She looked like an idiot, and she knew it.

Okay, so maybe most people would expect some sort of intimidation if they were moving from any other city in the world and ended up in Los Angeles. She did have to admit she expected a hint of intimidation and feeling inferior, but she didn't expect anymore than there was back in Miami. She had grown used to being surrounded by perfectly tanned and toned bodies and blonde highlights.

But did she expect the feeling of such high level stupidity?

Answer: no.

She looked completely out of place, dressed the way she was while actors, dancers, singers, and models surrounded her, self-confident and beautiful.

She wasn't exactly sure if she was underdressed or overdressed, for one side of the lobby was dressed in clothes that were a little too dressy to be your average casual. The other side wore expensive looking bikinis and swim trunks, heading out to the large, very welcoming pool.

And here was Haydelynn Ramirez in her old, faded black jeans and dark 3 Doors Down t-shirt. Her feet were covered by ancient blue Converse while those around her sported designer flip flops or stilettos.

She ran a hand through her tousled curls and sighed. How ridiculous did she look standing in the middle of the _Palm Woods _lobby with nothing to do? She had no idea where to go, no tour guide to show her anything, and she was certainly not a potential star.

Plopping down on a comfy sofa, she looked around for something to do or somewhere to go.

Then she saw it.

Okay, she had to face it. She really didn't want to be in California, she really didn't want to be in Los Angeles, and she sure as hell didn't want to be at the _Palm Woods_.

But when she caught sight of the _Jamba Juice_ across from where she was sitting, she couldn't stop the slight smile that spread on her face. She didn't care anymore, now she was craving smoothie and had something to do.

Making her way over there, she tried to ignore the fact that she was being stared at by strangers and entered the smoothie shop, smiling politely at her server as she ordered a strawberry/ banana smoothie.

Relief washed over her when she realized she didn't seem so out of place anymore. Most of the stares at diminished, and she felt a little more normal than she did before.

But when the server called her name, announcing that her drink was ready, as she went to grab it, she could feel three stares on her back.

Turning, she caught a glimpse of the girls sitting at a table glaring at her from under their huge bug-eyed glasses. She offered a small smile and broke their gazes, her eyebrows scrunching together as she wondered what their problems were.

Wanting to avoid any more weird glares, she took her smoothie and went back out into the lobby, taking another seat on the sofa and patiently waiting for her mom. Eight-thirty had passed five minutes ago, and even though she knew Evelynn didn't like to leave people waiting, she knew sometimes she got caught up in stuff and was just fashionably late.

So… she waited.

* * *

He was almost there… four floors left. Three…. Two… One…

_Ding._

He was _so_ going to win this.

* * *

Taking another sip of her smoothie, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the amazing flavor of what she used to love to drink so long ago. She could almost imagine herself sitting on that familiar porch, sipping from that cup, savoring the amazing flavor, looking up and smiling at….

She pushed that thought out of her head and checked her watch. 9:03. she had heard of being fashionably late, but an half an hour?

Her mother was never this late for _anything_.

She stood up and remembered that her mother was on the fifth floor, turning the corner towards the elevator, a gasp escaped her lips when she clashed with someone. The smoothie was knocked out of her hand and landed on the floor with a noisy bump, the liquid splashing all over the place.

And of course, being as clumsy as always, she flew back and on the floor, the smoothie drenching her from head to toe.

Shocked at what had just happened, she stared down at her stained clothes, mouth open and eyes wide with surprise. A thought ran to her head and she suddenly found herself wondering why she couldn't enjoy not even a cup of the old her.

She looked around from where she was clumsily seated on the floor, and she didn't know what was worse: the stares of amusement or the glances of carelessness from those around her. She did catch a glimpse of three dislikeable smirks from across the room.

After a low groan (that honestly sounded more like a whimper) , she looked up at whoever she had bumped into, ready to apologize for drenching them with her weird drink as well.

Two big brown eyes stared at her from under the shadow of a black hockey helmet, reflecting her sudden jolt of surprise and panic. A tan arm was held out half an inch from his body, signifying his state of shock and instinct to help her.

And, just like her, his clothes were splashed with pink goo and his expression matched hers of embarrassment.

Her apology caught in her throat.

"I'm… so sorry." He finally mumbled, not knowing what to say. He held his hand out all the way, and she took it after a couple of moments of staring at it. He pulled her up easily, and she groaned at the sudden head rush that came.

Rubbing her head, she swayed on her feet as the dizziness settled in. He caught her at once, worry on his face.

"You okay?"

She waited a couple of seconds before answering, just trying not to topple into him. When the rush finally passed, she gave him a small, reassuring smile. "I'm fine. It was my fault anyway, wasn't paying attention to where I was going…"

"No, no. It was my fault… I'm always getting in trouble for fooling around at the _Palm Woods_. I'm always messing things up and knocking people over."

She smiled. "I guess I'm just one of your victims then…"

The small smile that was slowly forming on his lips fell, and his eyes expressed the guilt he felt. "I'm really sorry…"

She chuckled. "I was kidding."

His expression lightened. "Oh… really?"

Holding back another laugh, she nodded.

"Oh, well… I'm Carlos." He held out his hand again, and she grinned, finding it funny how he was proposing they shake hands under these odd circumstances. Placing her hand in his, her mood lightened at the thought of meeting someone new.

"Well, Carlos, I don't wanna be rude, but I have to say that I would like to be drinking my smoothie rather than wearing it." She laughed as her hair flopped down onto her face, splashing them with more pink juice.

"Again, I'm really sorry. I was in a rush, and I just ran out of the elevator and I totally didn't see you… or your smoothie, and then the next thing I know we're both covered in smoothie and you're telling me that you would rather be drinking it and I feel really bad and…"

"Uh, Carlos?" she giggled.

"What?"

"I was kidding… again."

A goofy, child-like smile spread on his face, and he nodded once, the smoothie splattered on the black helmet he wore flying onto her face, which made her laugh.

"Sorry."

"Is that all you say?" she teased him again, raising her eyebrows, a smile on her face.

"No," he argued. Her smile faltered. "Sorry."

She couldn't help but laugh at him, and genuinely laugh too. She had never found something or someone so amusing before, and she had to admit that his goofy appearance and sense of humor, as well as his childlike features and free spirit attitude, actually pulled her attention. She couldn't help but be curious about this new Carlos, and even though they had just met, she had a feeling she would be seeing more of him.

And his accidents.

"Well, I still feel really bad," he finally said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

She shrugged. "Accidents happen."

"Yeah, especially when I'm around." He frowned. He looked at her suddenly, his eyes lighting up again. "Can I get you another smoothie? You know, to make it up to you?"

"And be in danger of clashing into you again? No thanks." She declined, sighing. Glancing past his shoulder, she caught a glimpse of a narrow sign with the word "RESTROOMS" engraved in big letters. That would have to do. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Carlos, I'm gonna head over to the bathroom and attempt to wash off as much of this smoothie as I can, which I doubt will be much." Flashing a comical smile, she pushed past him and started towards the bathrooms, her mood suddenly darkening as she wished she would have stayed with the car keys so she could have snuck an extra set of clothes to change into. But she didn't.

"Wait," she withheld the groan that wanted to escape and turned around, giving Carlos the best smile she could. He hurried up to her, careful not to slip on the smoothie under his shoes. "That doesn't make me feel any better… I have to do something for you."

She stared at him in amusement for a second, thinking it funny how his eyes grew twice as big as before when he begged to help. "You do notice that I'm not the only one covered in smoothie, right?" she asked him, noticing how he seemed completely oblivious to the fact she had just stated.

He looked down at his stained sweatshirt. "Oh yeah… but that's not the point! I do things like this all the time, only they usually don't involve spilling smoothies on pretty girls. Tell me to do something."

She sighed, her eyes wandering over to the entrance to the girls' bathroom, the warm liquid now becoming annoyingly uncomfortable. "I don't know!" she finally announced, throwing her hands up in the air, making Carlos flinch at the sudden movement. "I guess… you just owe me one."

He seemed to ponder over that statement for a minute before finally nodding, a smile of contentment on his face. "I owe you one." He repeated, nodding in understanding. "Alright… okay. As long as I owe you one."

She nodded. "Can I go now? This isn't as comfortable as it looks."

He kept nodding. "Yep. Just remember that I, Carlos Garcia, owe you one."

"You owe me one."

"I owe you one."

He started walking away backwards, not breaking eye contact as he repeated those four words. She chuckled, finding him truly hilarious, and after the final repetitive sentence, they both turned to retreat.

Then he noticed something.

"Are you new here? To the _Palm Woods_, I mean." He hoped she was still there, and that she had caught his question. She was, and she did.

She thought of the weird situation she was in, thinking which was the right answer. She ended up nodding. "You could say that."

Her threw her another white smile and realized something else. "Hey… I never caught your name."

"Haydelynn." She grinned.

"Haydelynn. Nice."

She laughed. "Goodbye, Carlos."

"See ya around."

* * *

Carlos pulled off his helmet as he stepped back into the elevator, wiping the dried smoothie off his face with the back of his hand. He decided that he couldn't keep with the scavenger hunt covered in sticky goo, so he forfeited, not really caring about any of the other boys' reactions when they won. He guessed that Logan would be the one to end up with the prize, and he could already here the guy bragging about how he used some weird strategy to win, when the obvious truth was that if Carlos hadn't run into the new girl, he would have easily won.

A smile broke his expression when he thought about her. She seemed pretty cool, especially when he spilled her drink. Any other girl would have blown up in his face and stomped off, but she was wiling to stand there and talk to him, accepting his apologies and assuring him it wasn't his fault.

Man, this girl wasn't only pretty, but nice too?

The elevators open and gave him access to the second floor, where he was met by the rest of his band mates. Just as he predicted, Logan was dancing around waving a _Jamba Juice_ certificate over his head, gloating.

"And _that_ is why calculation is the key."

James and Kendall rolled their eyes and waved him off, their competitive sides coming in.

"You wouldn't have won if I didn't get distracted." Carlos spoke up, stepping out of the elevator.

The three boys turned to look at him, their eyes widening at the sight of their friend, covered in smoothie.

"What happened to _you_?" Kendall asked him, eyebrows raised.

"And why are you covered in juice?" James threw in.

"I had a bit of a run in." Carlos sighed, pushing past his friends into apartment 2J.

"With a smoothie machine?" Logan tucked his scavenger hunt prize into his back pocket.

Carlos rolled his eyes. "No! Someone _holding_ a smoothie." He set his precious helmet on the counter and turned to face his friends. "There's a new girl at the _Palm Woods_ and I crashed into her in the lobby as I went to go look for my winning item." He threw a glare at Logan. "I was going too fast and didn't see here, which explains…" he gestured towards his messy appearance.

The three boys nodded in understand, knowing Carlos was capable of that…

Carlos held in his sigh of relief, realizing the other members of Big Time Rush hadn't caught an important detail.

When the boys froze.

"Did you say '_new girl'_?"

* * *

**I have to say... I did like that ending :)**

**The NExt Chapter Will Be up soon!... I hope... Maybe a bit sooner if you guys gimme some more reviews? **

**Well, you know what to do... **

**-Nessa**


	3. Chapter 3

If there was one word that could describe Haydelynn Ramirez's appearance when she looked in the mirror of the girls' bathroom, she wasn't sure if ridiculous or scary was the one.

Her hair was all over the place, matted together in places, frizzy and tangled in others. Her face was sticky and stained a dull pink color, just like her clothes. It was all over her, and by the first look she knew she wasn't going to get a lot of it off.

Sighing, she looked around, checking under all the stalls to make sure she was alone. She at least wanted to get some kind of order to her hair. So she turned on the faucet of the sink and stuck her head in, thinking to herself how embarrassing it would be if someone walked in.

After soaking her hair, she weaved her fingers through it, trying to do something with it. Drying it off with a couple of paper towels, she decided it would be best if she just put her hair up in a ponytail.

"Haydelynn? Haydelynn, sweetheart, where are you?" she heard her mother's voice calling her.

Sighing and brushing some of the crusted fruit smoothie off of her shirt, she went out to meet her mother.

"Oh! What happened to you?" her mother exclaimed as soon as she took a look at her daughter's frazzled appearance.

"I… uh… kinda spilled my smoothie." She answered, switching her weight to her right foot awkwardly.

Evelynn held back a laugh. "All over yourself?"

"Actually," Haydelynn chuckled. "I had a little help… I bumped into someone, and caused this to happen." She gestured to her messy appearance.

Her mother frowned, but suddenly replaced it with a grin. "Well, why don't you go upstairs and shower? I'll go get the bags in the car."

Haydelynn stared at her mother and cocked her head to the side, confused. "But we don't…" she trailed off when her mother proudly held up a set of keys.

"I got the job!" Evelynn squealed, sounding more like a teenage girl than her own daughter did.

"Yay…" Haydelynn tried sounding excited, but a part of her couldn't help but be disappointed. She knew that her mother would have found some way to stay in California, but a part of her was hoping that if her mother failed at finding something in Los Angeles, they would somehow make their way back to Miami.

This sealed the deal.

Evelynn noticed the small disappointment in her daughter's eyes and sighed, throwing an arm around her. "Listen, I know this is different, but we're gonna be okay, alright? Now go and wash off. The best part of these apartments is that we get them fully furnished!"

Haydelynn chuckled once and took the keys from her mom, making her way to the elevators.

* * *

"Mr. Bitters!" four voices yelled at the same time, causing the fat man to jump and drop his glasses.

"What!" he snapped bitterly, hence the name.

"There's a new girl," James announced, a smile on his face. "Right?"

"Carlos attacked her earlier." Logan added.

"Hey!" the Latino defended himself. "I did _not_ attack her! I bumped into her."

"Whatever, anyway, we wanna meet her." Kendall finished.

Mr. Bitters raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because…" Kendall struggled to come back with a good answer.

"We know how hard it is moving to a new place, and… we wanna welcome her!" Logan helped him out.

"Nice," James muttered.

"Thanks."

The two boy's bumped fists and all four of them broke out into a wide, innocent smile.

"Who was this girl you terrorized?" Mr. Bitters asked, looking at the Latino.

"It was an accident!" he yelled, aggravated. "And her name was… it was…" he paused, scratching the back of his neck. "Come on, I know this…"

"_You forgot her name!" _the three boys shouted at him.

"You guys know I don't work good under pressure!" he yelled back. "It was a weird name, something I never heard before… Hayden! No… Something with _Lynn_ at the end..." he gasped.

"Haydelynn!"

"_Haydelynn_?" his friends repeated.

Carlos nodded furiously.

"Oh yes." Mr. Bitters remembered.

The boys leaned in for more information.

"Well, haven't you heard of guest and manager confidentiality?" he snapped dryly, and the four boys leaned back with disappointed sighs. Mr. Bitters laughed maniacally and walked away, holding a bowl of popcorn.

Carlos smacked the top of the desk, while the other three guys sighed in disappointment.

"How are we supposed to find her now?" James asked.

Carlos glanced towards the elevators when they dinged, making an automatic double take.

Haydelynn walked through the doors, fresh and clean, a slight pout on her face. Her hair was damp and dark, hanging gracefully over her shoulders. Her big green eyes were bright and hypnotizing. In her hands lay an open black book, which she seemed to be reading as she walked.

Carlos never really noticed how pretty she was…

He smiled.

"There she is," he nudged whoever was closest to him, who happened to be Logan at the time.

The three boys turned around and looked for the mystery girl, immediately catching sight of the pretty brunette exiting the elevators. Their eyes all widened, sighs escaping all of their lips.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Carlos let the comment slip, sighing.

The other members of Big Time Rush nodded.

"Yeah," James agreed. A smile lit up his face. "And guess what?"

"What?"

"_I call dibs!" _

Carlos' face fell and he froze, his eyes not leaving the new girl as the pretty boy approached her, fixing his already perfect hair with a flirty smile on his face.

She seemed completely into the book in her hands as she walked forward, not paying attention to where she was going. James stepped in front of her, giving his hair one last flip.

"Why, hello there." He greeted.

She inhaled sharply when she almost collided with him. Running into two people in one day: not good.

Her gaze broke from her book, and she looked up at James, a slightly annoyed look on her face. "Hi," was her simple answer before she looked right back down at it.

Kendall and Logan shared a snicker.

"He doesn't stand a chance," Kendall laughed.

"She's way too into that book to pay attention." Logan agreed.

Carlos only watched, jealousy radiating off of him in a way that he couldn't even describe. Of course, James was going to find her interesting. And _of course_, she was going to like him. _All _girls liked James. He was _James_.

But the fact that she was slightly distracted pulled at Carlos' lips. She had paid more attention to him when he spilled smoothie all over her, and he was only _Carlos_.

James' smile faltered, and he struggled to hold her attention. "I'm James," he held out his hand. "I'm in a band?"

Sighing, she shut her book and tucked it under her arm, looking up at him once again and offering a small, polite smile. She shook his hand once, not in the same mood she was in when she met Carlos. "Congratulations," she muttered.

James tried to ignore the dry sarcasm and his smile became tighter. "Ever heard of Big Time Rush?" he asked her.

She thought for a minute before shaking her head apologetically. "Sorry, no."

James nodded. "It's okay, you will soon enough."

Her eyebrows rose. "Oh really?"

Carlos clenched his fists. He really wanted to be a good friend, but he had met the girl first, and she had gotten along so much better with him.

But yet, she didn't flirt with him like she was doing with James.

He regretted not thinking of calling dibs earlier.

She stared at the boy in front of her. Tall, long brown hair, nice build, and dark hazel eyes. She had to admit, he was pretty attractive, definitely pop star material.

But she could tell that he was also shallow, self worshiping, and only cared about appearances.

She was the kind of person that could tell those kinds of things. One look at you and she had already half of your personality down. A small conversation and she knew you entirely. She lived on expectations, and not once could anyone ever make her say "wow, that was unexpected" by something they did. She was just one of those people who could easily read you, no matter how much you tried to act differently around her.

So one look at this "James" and she knew three things…

One: he had the looks and talent of a pop star.

Two: he was a major flirt.

And Three: he was trying to impress her while trying to impress his friends, who she assumed were the two guys chuckling to themselves by Mr. Bitters' desk.

He wasn't her type. Hell, she didn't even know what her _type_ was, but she knew she didn't really take a liking to guys like him. Self absorbed and egotistical. She didn't even know she was approachable by someone as beautiful as him, but he was standing before her, giving it a shot, and she felt bad if she just ignored him. So she played along with his little game.

First, he tried impressing her with saying in a band, which she expected. They _were_ at the _Palm Woods_ after all, weren't they?

But sadly, she had never heard of Big Time Rush before, and it made her feel bad.

"We're working with Gustavo Rocque…" he informed her, smiling with perfect white teeth. "You know him, right?"

She chuckled. "_Girl to My Heart_?" she laughed. "My dad…." She trailed off, her smile falling.

James noticed this and pursed his lips.

She cleared her throat. "Yeah, I know him."

"Yeah, well, we're… kinda the next 'big thing'." He told her, laughing.

She rolled her eyes playfully and nodded. "I'm sure you are."

There was a moment of silence, and her fingers slowly etched towards the book under her arm.

"Uh, what was your name?" he asked, his eyebrows coming together in apologetic confusion.

She gave a smile, and from across the room, Carlos noticed it was only half-genuine. "Haydelynn,"

"And what are you doing here, Miss Haydelynn?" he said he odd name with ease.

She reached up and ran a hand through her hair, which made the four members of Big Time Rush sigh. "Um, actually, my mom's the new assistant manager…" she found it embarrassing how she was surrounded by models and singers and actors and she was only the normal daughter of the normal new assistant manager.

James raised his eyebrows. Honestly, he expected her to be a singer or model… "Oh… cool."

Haydelynn nodded awkwardly, her eyes darting around the room as she switched her weight from one foot to another, waiting for him o start another conversation. She actually really wanted to get to her book, but she hated ending conversations herself and preferred when someone else did it.

That's when she caught sight of a familiar face.

When she recognized the tan face standing off to one side, the black helmet ever present on his head, now clean and shiny, she couldn't help the smile that spread on her face. James perked up, thinking the smile was for him, but then he followed her gaze and frowned.

"Carlos?" she called.

His head snapped up at the mention of his name, and his eyes widened when he realized it was her calling him. She waved softly and beckoned him over.

Kendall and Logan chuckled as Carlos hesitantly made his way over to the two flirting teens.

"Hey," he greeted her, a small smile on his face. "You cleaned up good."

She giggled. "So did you."

James stood awkwardly between the two. No! _He_ had called dibs, so that meant that _he_ was going to get Haydelynn.

"I see you met James," Carlos said, pulling James into the conversation.

She grinned at James, who's heart fluttered as he smiled back. "Yep… are you in the band too?"

Carlos nodded.

"Us too!" Kendall and Logan popped out of nowhere, and James inwardly groaned at the rude interruption.

Kendall held his hand out, and Haydelynn smiled brightly. "I'm Kendall."

"And I'm Logan," Logan held his had out as well, throwing her the famous crooked smile that he knew drove Camille crazy, so he only hoped it worked on her.

Haydelynn laughed and shook both of their hands, having to cross her arms as she did so. "Haydelynn…"

"Well Haydelynn," James concluded, clapping his hands suddenly. This conversation had gone nowhere, and he planned to end it so he could start fresh later… after he showered and fixed his hair up once more. "We just wanted to give you an official welcome to the _Palm Woods_ and hope everything works out fine for you… See ya around!"

Haydelynn's face fell as James pushed his friends away and over to the pool. That was random… but not unexpected.

Shrugging, she sat back down on the couch and immersed herself back into her book.

* * *

**I know it wasn't much, but I just needed Haydelynn to meet the guys.. **

**I wanna thank my twin, Half-BreedLover418, for giving me the idea and making me make my original plot a hundred times better than it was before! I Love ya Twinny!**

**Please review…. Next chapter will be up soon!**


	4. Chapter 4

**okay... so this chapter was sort of hard to write... but then I went back, changed everything and it came easier! I'm weird like that... heh... Well, enjoy!**

* * *

"Hey!" Logan exclaimed, stumbling along behind Carlos and Kendall as James pushed them ahead forcefully against their will. Kendall glanced back at the confused girl who, after a while of staring and probably thinking that Big Time Rush was made up by weirdo's that left pretty girls standing in the middle of a hotel lobby, only shrugged and sat back down, opening her book up again and giving it her complete and undivided attention.

James sighed in annoyance as he let go of Kendall and Logan's shirts and stared at them. "You guys are _unbelievable_!" he threw his hands up in the air dramatically. "You just _had_ to interrupt us just when the conversation was moving along."

Kendall snorted. "'_Getting along_'? You mean when she lost all interest in what you were saying and pulled Carlos into the conversation?"

Ignoring the urge to glare at the Latino standing off to the side, the pretty-boy rolled his eyes. "I had a plan!"

"And what was that?" Logan raised his eyebrows. "Snatching that book out of her hand and flinging it into the pool? Or maybe lifting your shirt and trying to win her over with your 'washboard abs'." he laughed as he held his hands up in air quotations. "Face it, James. She's obviously not interested."

James let out one of his famous yelps and grabbed at his hair, clearly offended. "'_Not interested_'? _Not interested_! Of course she's interested!" wiggling his fingers in front of his face; he tried to show off his white teeth. "Have you _not _seen this face?"

The two boys rolled their eyes and sighed at his failure of a modest response.

Haydelynn didn't hear them, no matter how loud their conversation was getting. Instead, she was completely immersed in the book in her hands.

"Whatcha reading?" she looked up at the sound of a voice to be met by Carlos once again, and she offered a small smile, tired of getting interrupted. That and, well no one knew of the book in her hands, or what it meant to her, so she gently placed it beside her and directed her attention to the curious Latino.

"Nothing…" her shoulders lifted in a shrug, and she let out a sigh, her eyes falling once again on the helmet. "May I ask what the helmet's for?" she reached out and tugged on a lose strap, making a grin break out on Carlos' face.

"Protection," he answered simply, mimicking her shrug.

Her eyebrows rose. "No kidding."

"I'm serious," he chuckled. "It's just in case I walk into a wall and end up doing a head spin on the ground… or a rock gets thrown at my head."

"Aren't you prepared?" she rolled her eyes, and he laughed before nodding. Both of them then looked over to where his friends were standing, and she grinned when she caught James' stare, making the pretty boy wink before looking away.

Noticing the exchange, Carlos' smile wavered.

"So…" he said loudly, causing her to turn back to him. "What are you here for?"

She cleared her throat and ran a hand through her hair. "Um… my mom's the new assistant manager?" it was phrased more of a question than a statement.

He held back a laugh. "Really?"

She nodded and smacked him in the chest when she saw his smirk. "What's so funny?" her tone was defensive and embarrassed.

He barked a laugh. "Nothing, I just expected you to be a singer or something…" _Maybe a model_. She threw a smile his way and his stomach tightened. _Yeah, she can totally be a model_.

"Well, I'm not," she said simply, and something about the way she said it made him think she was lying somehow.

She hated ending conversations, but she just couldn't keep talking about music… especially not in a place like the _Palm Woods_. So, standing up, she grabbed her book and smiled. "Well, my mom's probably wondering where I am… so…"

Carlos jumped up beside her. "Oh! Yeah, of course." He couldn't help but wonder why she had suddenly become so edgy, her fingers fidgeting with her jacket string.

"So, I'm just gonna…" she started to make her way around him, her fingers tightening around the jacket string and tugging anxiously.

"Hey, um," she turned around when he started talking again, a guilty feeling making its way to her stomach. "You wanna hang out sometime? Maybe by the pool or something?"

A soft blush crept to her cheeks, and he noticed she was softly shaking her head. "Actually…"

"With all of us, I mean," he threw in, his words escaping his lips without thinking. "I mean… the guys really seem to like you… and since you're new here we could… ya know," his shoulders lifted and dropped. "Show you around and stuff." He couldn't get his hopes up now, considering the fact that it _was_ her first day here and that he _just_ met her, so asking her out was completely out of the question.

But inviting her to a group outing and being the only one showing up was a totally different story…

She seemed to ponder over that for a moment before sighing and shrugging. "Why not? It's not like I have anything better to do." She did actually, like unpacking her belongings and thinking of a way to get her mom to move back to Florida, but she felt bad ditching him _and _rejecting his sweet offer in the same ten minutes, so she accepted.

He flashed a million-watt smile and nodded. "Okay, so I'll meet you by the pool tomorrow morning?"

"Tell me when."

"Around nine?"

She shrugged and he grinned.

* * *

She stared at the words on the page, scribbled in such beautiful, neat handwriting. Her fingers gently traced the soft cursive, forming the words that she had read thousands of times but just couldn't get enough of.

_Snow is a mysterious thing._ The words read, and she closed her eyes and tried to imagine a white blanket of snow over the ground. _At least, I think it is. When it falls, it's not cold, but then you feel the atmosphere around you cooling down until your bones are shaking and all you want is to go inside to have some hot chocolate. But then you immerse yourself in it and play with it and it becomes the coolest thing._ She tried to use the description and remember what it was like to play in snow, but the memories were fuzzy, considering she hadn't seen it since she was about two or three years old.

_Have you ever seen snow, Haydy? _The words kept on, using the nickname that she hadn't heard in years. _It's pretty cool if you ask me… that is, until it gets all yellow and stuff and the cold isn't as comforting as it was before_. She always smiled at that part, her lips coming up to form the smallest of smiles. _John got us lost in the woods today… again_. _It was my job to find our way back_. _I honestly think I can be on that cool reality TV show where they throw a bunch of overdramatic teenagers in the middle of the woods and they have to find their way back. Amy was freaking out the entire day, which was really annoying! I mean, doesn't anyone understand that in order for you to listen for the road you have to be QUIET? But all I could hear were her loud annoying whimpers. "Sophie the sun's going down" or "Sophie I'm out of bug spray" or "Sophie! I scratched myself on a twig! I'm gonna die!" Gosh, I felt like taping her mouth shut, but sadly, John had forgotten his duct tape. _

"What are you doing?" she jumped, a small gasp escaping her lips as her hands snap her book shut and quickly tuck it under her thigh. Looking up, she came face to chubby face of the weird hotel manager, who was staring at her with his bushy eyebrows raised high over his glasses.

She gave him a pure innocent look, shrinking back into the pillows of the couch she was seated on. "Um… reading?"

A long pointer was pulled out of nowhere, and she flinched when it was slammed against a random whiteboard behind her that she never noticed. "_No_ lounging in the lobby after nine!"

Raising an eyebrow, she looked down at her watch. "It's only 9:01…"

"Exactly! One minute past the limited time! Which means, that I'm going to have to put a stri—"

"Haydelynn!" he was cut off when someone else boomed her name from across the lobby, and she looked up to see James hurrying over towards her and Mr. Bitters, a sweet smile on his face. "There you are!"

Bitters seemed bewildered as he watched the sandy haired boy grab Haydelynn's hand and pull her into a bone-crushing hug, which she didn't fully return, instead gasping for breath as her face was pressed into the hardness of his chest. After finally letting her go, he turned to Mr. Bitters with a pleading look. "Come on, Mr. Bitters," he patted the fat man's shoulder gently, his other arm coming around to drape across Haydelynn's shoulders. "My _dear friend_ Haydelynn was only innocently reading in the _lovely_ lobby of the _Palm Woods_." his tone was persuasive and over-kind. "I find _no_ need to give her a strike."

"A _strike_?" Haydelynn repeated, trying to shake James' arm off, but he held it tight. Her eyes floated up to James' face, confusion clouding the green irises. "What are you—"

"The rules specifically say—" Mr. Bitters started, but James interrupted him once again.

"And, she's new! You can't _possibly_ expect her to know _all_ the rules on her first day, now can you?"

Haydelynn had no idea what was going on, she had no idea what a "strike" was, or why Bitters was insisting on giving her one… but what she was completely stumped about was why James was making it his job to cover up for her, like if getting a strike was the worst thing in the world.

Mr. Bitters' face softened as he thoughtfully stuffed a handful of popcorn in his mouth. "Fine," he grumbled, throwing a glare over at the puzzled girl standing before him. "But if I find you in this lobby after nine _ever_ again…"

"Alright, thanks Mr. Bitters! Now, Haydy's late for dinner, so if you'll excuse us…" before the manager could answer, James was already leading Haydelynn away, his act falling as he gently pushed her into the elevator, pressing the button to the second floor.

The doors slid closed slowly, leaving the two teenagers alone in the elevator.

Haydelynn didn't say anything; she was too busy trying to process what had just happened. Not really the events, even though she did wonder what a strike was and why James had insisted on being her "hero", but there was that last sentence that kept repeating itself in her head.

"_Haydy's late for dinner_…"

Haydy. He had called her Haydy, a name that she hadn't heard in years, let alone answered to. No one called her that, no matter how long her name was. She had always said that her name was unshortenable… if that was even a word. She hated being called Lynn, and though she would answer to Hayden, she didn't really enjoy it either.

Only one person had ever called her Haydy, someone that she loved dearly, and what always surprised her is that she would answer, not caring how ridiculous and childish the nickname sounded.

And here stood this arrogant pop star that she had just met, and it seemed completely natural to shorten her unusual name.

The elevators dinged and opened, revealing the second floor of the _Palm Woods_. James stepped aside, holding his arm against the side in case the door would want to close. After a second, she took a couple of steps forward into the hall, waiting for his lead.

"This isn't my floor," she stated obviously as she watched him climb out of the elevator.

He rose and eyebrow and chuckled. "No, it's _mine_."

"Well, then why am _I_ here?"

Another laugh escaped his lips as he led her towards apartment 2J, his hand rested gently against the small of her back. He didn't answer her question, and she had to admit, it kind of annoyed her.

They kept walking down the hallway, passing one, two, three doors and on and on, until she sighed in impatience.

"You know," he broke the silence, looking down at her as they came to a stop in front of a door, where two X's with Bitters face on them were stuck on it. "A 'thank you' wouldn't go unappreciated."

She raised her eyebrows at him, crossing her arms. "I still don't know what the hell you did to make me thank you…"

His hand came up to point at the X's on the door. "Those are strikes," he informed her. "Given by Bitters to those guests who break the rules. Three strikes—"

"And you're out." She finished for him, her lips coming up at the side.

He nodded. "Exactly, you were just about to get one. On your first day here." He shook his head almost shamefully. "That would have been horrible. Worse than us."

"So, you saved me from getting my first strike?"

"Yep," he shrugged. "I mean, at least get a strike on something _worth_ getting a strike for. Not reading in the lobby after nine… I mean, come on."

A snicker escaped her and she shook her head. "Alright fine," playfully nudging him in the shoulder (or in the arm, considering her head just barely reached his shoulder), she rolled her eyes. "Thank you."

A smug smile spread on his face. "No problem."

Just then, the door was yanked open and both teenagers turned to see Kendall standing there with an appalled expression. "Uh, James?" he raised an eyebrow at his tall friend before turning to the girl. "And Hayden!"

"Haydelynn," she corrected him with a smile, waving awkwardly. "Hi."

"Hey," the blonde answered with a smirk, looking back up at his friend. "What are you…" he trailed off, leaving the empty space in his sentence for James to finish.

"James just saved me, apparently." Haydelynn answered when they sandy haired boy didn't.

Inside the apartment, Carlos' head shot up at the familiar sound of her voice, and both he and Logan peered over the dining table trying to get a better look at the door. The Latino's dark eyes narrowed the slightest bit when he saw the closeness of their bodies, James' hand still pressed against the small of her back, waiting to gently push her in when needed. She didn't seem to notice though, like it was perfectly natural.

Kendall looked down at her (why were these guys so _tall_?) and chuckled. "Did he?"

She shrugged. "Apparently, I have to save my strikes for something worth getting in trouble for."

Kendall looked at James, who only grinned and mimicked her shrug, taking a step closer to the door. Realizing that both of them were still out in the hall, the blonde stepped aside, smiling. "Well, come on in."

James strode in casually, plopping himself down at the dining table beside Carlos (who let out a heavy sigh before reaching for the ketchup bottle), grabbing a handful of French fries and tossing them on his plate before grabbing a hamburger. Haydelynn stood under the door frame awkwardly, debating whether she should go to her apartment or not.

Then… the arguments started.

"Dude, I had it first!" Carlos' voice drifted to her ears, and she slightly leaned in to get a better view him and Logan both holding on to either end of the ketchup bottle, yelling at each other as they each tugged violently.

"Yeah, right after you snatched it away from me mid-squirt!"

"Well I wouldn't have to _snatch it_ if you didn't take it from me!"

She quietly watched them go, an amused smile spreading on her lips.

"Are you gonna come in?" Kendall asked her.

She bit her lip for a second before shaking her head. "Actually, I think I should be heading over to my own apartment." Taking a step back, she smiled politely at him.

"Oh come on," he rolled his eyes. "The food's done, and we have _plenty_."

"Yeah, but my mom…"

Just then, her phone vibrated, and she pulled it out of her back pocket, opening up her new text message.

_Hey honey, I'm working late tonight apparently, job's harder than I thought. But I heard the room service is awesome. Order anything you want. I'm sorry. Love you, Mom._

"Well that's convenient." She muttered under her breath, replying quickly before tucking her phone into her back pocket and looking back up at Kendall.

"You were saying?" he had a smug look on his face, and she rolled her eyes, as if this was totally natural and they had known each other forever.

"Well," she sighed, looking over his shoulder at the bickering Carlos and Logan, the attractive James munching away at his burger, and then looked at the insisting blonde who looked nothing but friendly, and shrugged. "I guess a couple of hamburgers wouldn't hurt."

And just like that, she slid in beside Kendall, and entered the crazy world that surrounded these boys' lives.

* * *

"How can you _not_ like onion rings?"

"It's, like, _impossible_."

A couple of hours later, after being convinced to play dome hockey (which she won... if you count James practically playing for her winning), slide down the bright yellow swirly slide (in which she had embarrassingly fallen on top of Logan), and eat cup after cup of chocolate pudding (which she couldn't keep eating after two cups),Haydelynn found herself sitting crossed legged on a bright orange couch, a pillow wedged between her legs and the four members of Big Time Rush surrounding her with shocked faces. She had to admit, these guys were amazing. Nothing like she had ever seen before. They were all different in their own way, and yet they seemed to completely flow together perfectly, like words in a song.

"They just never appealed to me," she shrugged, laughing as they stared at her like she was from some alien planet.

Carlos, who was the closest to her, clamped his hands down on her shoulders and shook her lightly. "Look me in the eye and repeat that!"

She widened her eyes considerably, obviously teasing him as she nodded and slowly said, "Me. No. Like. Onion. Rings."

The other three boys broke out laughing while Carlos only rolled his eyes and leaned back into the pillows, even as his usual childlike smile spread out on his face. Haydelynn giggled and patted his leg in teasing sympathy.

"Boys…" the laughing ceased as a redheaded woman appeared, her eyebrows raising when she caught sight of the girl seated comfortably on her couch. "Oh, who's this?"

Haydelynn hopped up, quickly arranging the pillows back how they should have been on the couch. James stood up next, giving a nervous chuckle as he pretended to help her, followed by the rest of them. Kendall faced his mom with one of his "I-am-so-improvising-right-now" looks. "Mom, this is our new friend, Haydelynn," he gestured towards the girl that was now standing awkwardly between Logan and Carlos.

"Hi," she decided to politely hold her hand out, since that was what she had been taught as a child.

With a raise of an eyebrow, Mrs. Knight smiled and shook her hand. "Hello, and welcome to the _Palm Woods_, I guess." She laughed, pulling her hand back to hang by her side. "What are you here for?"

Haydelynn swallowed. Did _everyone_ have to ask that question?

"Her mom's the new assistant manager." Logan answered for her before Haydelynn could even open her mouth.

Mrs. Knight's eyebrows went up—_way _up—and her eyes widened in empathy. "Really? Poor woman…"

Haydelynn didn't even know how to respond to that, so she didn't.

Instead, her eyes widened and followed as a small girl stepped out into the living room, making her way over to stand next to her mom, looking up at Haydelynn with a bored look. A sigh escaped her lips as she crossed her arms and jutted her hip out, her auburn hair falling over her shoulder as she cocked her head to the side. "Alright, who's the girl and who called dibs first?"

A groan spread out among the guys. "_Katie!"_ they all hissed, and Carlos glanced at Haydelynn before blushing slightly and reaching up to rub the back of his neck.

Haydelynn only looked at her, trying to figure out what she was doing and how she fit into the scene.

"Uh, Haydelynn… meet Katie," Kendall muttered, gesturing with his hands. "My baby sister."

"Who called dibs?" was all Katie repeated, a smirk spreading as she gave Haydelynn the once over for about the eighth time since walking in. Haydelynn couldn't help but let the smile pull her lips upward when no one answered, but instead hung their heads.

"James," she answered for them, the smirk becoming more evident, mirroring Katie's. "James called dibs, very loudly at that."

Katie snorted and shook her head as the four boys shot up to gape at Haydelynn, a bright crimson coloring each of their cheeks, James' sporting the brightest of them all.

"I told you she heard!" Logan whispered, almost oblivious to the fact that he had to lean over Haydelynn to hiss at his friends.

"This isn't awkward," Kendall sneered sarcastically.

"It's only awkward if you make it awkward," Haydelynn jumped in, shrugging. "I mean, you guys were standing not even a yard away from me when James' called—or screamed—dibs."

A groan escaped James and his face scrunched up, much to everyone's amusement.

"Looks like the slick one wasn't so slick after all…"

Katie snickered at this, and the two girls looked at each other before sharing a quick fist-bump. "I like her," Katie said, pointing at the boys before walking off.

* * *

"You guys didn't really have to walk me to my room, ya know, it's not like I'm gonna get kidnapped between floors."

They were all standing in front of her apartment door now—5F, to be exact—Haydelynn's hand resting gently on the doorknob.

Carlos shrugged, crossing his arms as he leant against the wall, his head turning slightly as he studied her. "This _is_ L.A…"

"So you never know." Logan finished for him, sporting his cute crooked smile.

Haydelynn rolled her eyes as she dug her keys out of her pocket, sticking it into the lock. "Well, thanks anyway," she paused before turning the knob. "For everything, I mean. Dinner and stuff, it made me feel really…" she searched for the right word and smiled at her outcome. "Welcome."

"Well, that's what we do!" Carlos chuckled.

"Although you were easy enough to get along with," Logan said. "Definitely not like anyone else we met when we came." She heard some kind of double meaning in those words, but decided it was too late to look too much into it.

"Well," she smiled. "It's late, and I bet my mom's back already." Gently turning the knob, she eased the door open, turning to the two boys that insisted on walking her to her apartment, Kendall staying to help his mom with the dishes and James too embarrassed about Katie's remarks for any smart flirtations.

Logan nodded, and took a step back. "I hope you have fun," he said with a smile. "And that Katie didn't freak you out too much."

She laughed. "Naw, she's cool. Though, I feel kinda bad for James now."

"Don't," Carlos said, a bit too stern and defensive, so he tried to laugh it off. "He's just not used to be caught in a mistake, that's all." He grinned, though it wasn't as bright as it was before.

Logan's eyebrow quirked, and both him and Haydelynn shared a look.

After a few more exchanges and looks and words, Logan and Carlos started down the hallway towards the elevator and Haydelynn was able to step into her new home, which she realized as she quietly walked to her room and laid in bed, was already starting to feel more like home to her.

She didn't doubt four certain boys had something to do with it.

* * *

**So, you know what to do to make me update sooner! Reviews give me inspiration and motivation to update! SO INSPIRE AND MOTIVATE ME!... please?**

**Oh, and those of you waiting for your requested one shots, I know it's been taking forever... but please just bear with me... im sorry I'm taking so long, but I'm trying.. .and I havent given up on any of them... so just hold on a bit longer... :)**

**Review?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys!**

**I just wanna apologize cuz i havent uploaded or anything in forever! But I was grounded and well... you know how that goes!**

**But thankfully, in the two weeks that I was punished, I was able to write chapter five and half of chapter six! As well as one new oneshot and the second part of Missing! So, check those out :D**

**Enjoy and please review!**

**-Nessa**

* * *

She had to admit that she almost fell for it.

This cruel illusion that she had been thrown into by her subconscious, torturing her in the worst possible way.

Tall ancient trees surrounded her all around, towering over her and casting a dark shadow, hiding her from the bright sun overhead. A white blanket of snow covered the ground and the bare branches of the trees creaked against its weight. Her feet padded heavily and softly against the soft snow, marking her steps with a deep print.

She could hear the sound of blades slicing through ice floating among the trees, and she turned to find herself at an entrance of a large clearing.

A small figure moved far out in the clearing, spinning and jumping. And looking down, Haydelynn noticed that she had stepped onto thick ice, her shoes slipping out as she struggled to find balance. The figure didn't seem to notice her enter the ice, for she kept gracefully gliding among it, spinning fast as she held herself straight and perfect.

She watched in awe as the figure skated from one side of the frozen pond to the other, hopping and jumping, spinning and landing. Dark curls blew out from under her black knit cap, cascading around her face with every jump and spin, large brown eyes lighting up when she landed perfectly once again.

She immediately recognized the face of the young ice skater, and her heart dropped.

The skater lifted herself gracefully off of the ground once more, her arms coming in and tightly crossing over her chest to gain momentum as she turned her body quickly to the side, and Haydelynn watched with sad eyes as the girl spun quickly over and over again, her hair flying out behind her, a small smile forming on her lips as she finally came down, hitting the ice under her violently.

And just like that…

It cracked.

It all seemed to happen so fast. One second, Haydelynn was watching the girl twirl and hop, and the next, the ice broke under the skater and she fell into the freezing water without being able to process what was going on.

Emerald green flashed bright in the darkness as she forced her eyes open, and she refused to close them again, deciding to just stare up at the blackness that surrounded them, soon enough being able to make out the creases of the ceiling.

She felt warm tears sliding slowly down her face, and she made no effort to wipe them away as they soaked the back of her neck. Instead she only stared up at the ceiling, trying to think of anything else besides the latest dream she found herself in. It wasn't the first time she found herself awake in the middle of the night, and she was getting tired of this newfound insomnia.

So she did what she always did.

Reaching over her nightstand, her fingers came into contact with something smooth and hard and she grabbed it, pulling the laptop onto her lap and opening it, squinting at the sudden brightness as it started up. A word document was pulled up, and once again she was faced by that blinking vertical line, challenging her to write something. Anything, but, like always, she couldn't.

Her fingers lay upon the keyboard, lightly touching the twenty six keys that screamed to be pushed, her eyes practically glaring at the blank page as a small voice in her head yelled at her to type _something_. She was tired of the same thing, waking up every night after the same scene replayed in her head. Starting up her computer and opening up the same blank document, wanting to write something but never able to.

She was tired of it, and she wanted to change it. It was a new town, a new day. Maybe her mom was right and moving was a good idea, though she would never admit it.

So she pushed the keys. Her fingers gliding themselves over the keyboard like the skater slid over the ice in her dream. She didn't write much, barely even a sentence. Just four small words, barely filling up the large page displayed in front of her.

_Once Upon a December_

There was no period. No comma. Nothing. Just those words. And even though it seemed like nothing, she didn't care.

She had written something.

A small smile formed on her lips, barely noticeable to anyone who wouldn't see her, and she clicked on the small red X on the top of the screen, saving the document before shutting her laptop and setting it on the nightstand again. She wasn't planning on going back to sleep, but she felt more at peace with herself as she stared out of the large window of her room and into the dark night.

* * *

_Ice_.

The word was written alone at the top of the page, using a method that she had so many times before. Write a lone word at the top to catch the reader's attention and get them to keep reading.

It worked, for no matter how many times she read the same words, her eyes kept traveling farther and farther down the page.

_That was the first thing we all stepped on when we walked out of the woods and into this cute little clearing. Everything was white around us, so we could barely tell the trees from the bushes. I think I was the first one that slipped, and soon enough we were all squirming around on the cold frozen water. Cole went into camp counselor mode and told us all to stopping freaking out because he needed to find out if the ice was thick enough to walk on…. It was. _

Her dream came rushing back to her, as well as those tears, and she quickly shut the book and set it down softly on the table she was seated at. The pool was partly occupied, less than yesterday, that was for sure. A couple of people hung in the pool, floating on pool noodles or just hanging. Most people just hung in the extremely comfortable looking pool chairs on the side of the pool, tanning and reading magazines.

It was a typical Palm Woods Saturday, she guessed.

* * *

"Do it again!"

Various voices started to overlap and words mixed together as the four boys standing tiredly in the small recording booth at Rocque Records started to argue, complaining about how tired they were and how they had gone over the same song for hours and that they just wanted to go home.

Annoyed, Gustavo Rocque switched off the microphone, and looked up to see the ridiculous facial expressions of the band as they tried to yell louder at the realization that the mic was off. "When will they understand this it is a _soundproof booth and I can't hear them no matter how hard they yell!" _the fat man exclaimed, his face turning its usual shade of red as his blood pressure raised once again.

A sigh came from beside him, and he turned to his assistant, Kelly, who only rolled her eyes and said nothing, crossing her arms and leaning back onto her chair.

"Gustavo!" Kendall called as the boys piled through the door and stood slightly behind him.

"Why are you out here? You are supposed to be in _there_ recording our next _hit_!" the producer yelled at him. Kendall stood unfazed, much too used to his loud responses.

"We've been recording the _same _song for hours!" Carlos complained.

"We barely got to eat breakfast this morning," James sighed. "And this body… _needs_ protein."

"And the last couple of times sounded pretty good." Logan chimed in.

"So there is no need to record again!"

" '_Pretty _good' is not good enough! You will do, _as I say_!" Gustavo roared. "Now get back in there and run it again!"

"Fine," Kendall said simply, and everyone turned to him with a shocked expression. He rolled his eyes and held up a finger. "On one condition,"

Gustavo raised a bushy eyebrow and leaned back on his chair, just to humor him.

"We will record _one more_ time, and no matter how good or bad it is, you give us the rest of the day off."

A snort came from the small woman behind Gustavo, and the boys directed their attention to the mocha colored assistant laughing quietly to herself. Logan knew why she was laughing, Kendall's deal was ridiculous. Who did he think he was? Griffin?

It took Gustavo a couple of seconds for Kendall's compromise to register in his mind, and the four boys of Big Time Rush jumped back when he broke into a fit of laughter, clutching his sides for support as he guffawed loudly. A finger was pointed at Kendall as his other hand came up to remove his glass from his face and wipe his tears. "You're a funny one," he chuckled before composing himself and taking a deep breath. "Listen here, Kendall. _**I **__make the rules here, not __**you**__. So __**I **__will determine when you __**dogs**__ leave!" _

The boys frowned as Gustavo directed them back into the booth.

* * *

"_Fifty seven_." Logan groaned as they all plopped themselves onto the couch in the _Palm Woods_ lobby, glad to be home.

Carlos' throat hurt from so much harmonizing, James kept a water bottle close by and was constantly chugging it down to avoid coughing, and Kendall sighed, passing around the packet of cough drops they had picked up on the way back. They all looked at Logan with confused expressions.

Logan grabbed a handful of cough drops and stuffed them all into his mouth. "He made us sing the same song _fifty seven_ times."

"In eight different pitches." James added, taking another swig from his water bottle.

"Is that even legal?" Kendall asked, sucking on his own cough drop, throwing his head back against the back of the couch. "I'm willing to never sing again."

All of them grunted in agreement.

"Hey guys!" Camille and Jo came striding in, and Kendall immediately sat up straight, a goofy smile spreading on his face at the sight of the pretty blonde before him. Jo smiled at him and he accidentally swallowed his cough drop whole, which caused him to choke.

Logan, who was closest to him at the time, clapped him hard on the back and Kendall let out one last hoarse cough before the hard candy finally slid down his throat. Clearing his throat, he muttered a low "Sorry" and stole James' water bottle, gulping the rest of it down.

"Hey!" James complained as Kendall let out a content sigh and handed the pretty boy an empty water bottle.

Jo's eyebrows were glued together, and she wasn't exactly sure if she should be concerned or laughing, so she kept an easy smile on her face. Camille's expression was priceless. A perfect mix of shock and humor painted on her face. These guys were so ridiculous, but one look at the raven haired boy sitting across from her and she realized why she liked them again.

"Anyway," Jo giggled softly. "There's an open mic tonight."

"And you guys signed up, remember?" Camille finished.

Four groans broke out throughout them and Carlos reached for more cough drops. "Do we have to?"

"I would say 'no' any other day," the brunette laughed. "But we wanna welcome the new girl with a poolside open mic and some burgers. Kinda like a 'welcome to Hollywood' thing."

"Why didn't we get one of those?" James whined, sadly spinning his empty water bottle in his hands.

"Because you guys aren't totally amazing and funny and awesome to hang out with." Camille said simply, shrugging.

"Gee, thanks," Logan muttered.

The girls laughed. "The point is," Jo took over. "She's new, and well… she's not exactly here for 'talent' reasons." A sympathetic look crossed her face. "So we're guessing that she thinks she's not good enough, and we just wanna make her feel welcome."

"Did you even meet her yet?" Kendall asked, grinning widely as he remembered all the fun things they had done with her the night before. He was still trying to come up with a plan to make her eat some onion rings, maybe the open mic _was_ a good idea, they might be able to slip a couple of onion rings into her burger or something.

The girls nodded. "She's our new best friend!" Camille exclaimed.

The boys' eyebrows shot _way_ up, and Logan's famous crooked smile spread on his face as a chuckle escaped his lips.

"Okay, so we're not _that_ close," Jo rolled her eyes at her friend. "But we met her, and she seems really nice and cool, and we have a feeling we're gonna get along with her. We were all hanging out by the pool when I thought up the genius plan for the welcoming open mic. We came in to remind you guys."

Carlos' face fell when he realized something. "She's out? By the pool?"

Camille nodded and everyone looked confused at Carlos' uneasy expression. James smirked and hopped up, flipping his hair and pulling out his 'Cuda man spray.

"No!" Kendall snatched it out of his hands before he could spray anything on himself.

"Allergies, remember?"

"Oh…" James nodded. "Whoops."

"Yeah," Logan laughed.

"Force of habit," the shaggy haired boy shrugged. "But anyway, if you all will excuse me, I have a situation to clear up and a girl to woo."

The girls laughed.

"Let me guess," Camille rolled her eyes and pointed at James. "You called dibs?"

"Yep," Logan answered before anyone. "And she heard …which is the worst part."

Everyone snickered as James' smile fell and his hazel eyes turned to glare at his friend.

"You all just wait, because sooner or later, _she will be mine!_"

* * *

Carlos felt _really_ bad.

Obviously, the day before, he had set up that little get together with her without thinking. How was he supposed to know that Gustavo was going to keep them for two extra hours? And then he gets to the _Palm Woods_, finds out he has to sing _more_ at the open mic, _and_ that he had totally forgotten about the new girl waiting for him by the pool?

He felt like a jerk.

And the fact that James' confidence had come back and the man was totally set on going out to flirt with her some _more_, didn't help matters. They practically raced out to the pool, toppling over each other to see who got to her first, but of course, when she came into view, they collected themselves and tried to seem as casual as possible.

Haydelynn bit her lip and played with her fingers as she sat by the pool alone again. She wondered where Camille and Jo were, and why Carlos and the guys had never shown up. She assumed that they had been busy. They _were_ a band after all, and in a town like Los Angeles, not many people in the music industry had time to just hang out by the pool with the assistant hotel manager's daughter because they felt bad for her since she really had no talent.

She felt so small compared to everyone else. She had met a handful of people as she just sat by the pool. There was Camille: the method actress who had been at the _Palm Woods_ 'forever' and was always practicing for a role, walking up to random stranger and yelling out her lines.

Then Jo: a newfound singer that had a handful of auditions and interviews with record companies and musicals.

There was also Tyler: the boy who was constantly running away from his mother in fear of the latest embarrassing commercial she had scheduled for him.

Guitar dude: who Haydelynn assumed was a modern hippie that played guitar all day and wrote songs about random things like breakfast and grass.

Stephanie King: the low-budget-horror-movie director who had approached Haydelynn with a monster mask dilemma, begging to know which one was scarier looking.

And The Sims Twins: who got mad when you got their names mixed up (Haydelynn found that ridiculous, considering they looked _exactly_ alike and someone was bound to mix them up sooner or later).

And now she was sure she was about to meet another group of talent when three girls walked out of the building, literally seeming to walk in slow motion. She recognized them at once as the three girls staring at her the day before.

Tyler hopped out of the trash can he was hiding in and ran over to a large fan that Haydelynn swore was not there ten seconds before. He immediately switched on the button and the girls striding in were hit with the hard wind, making their hair fly back at the perfect moment and make their entrance more dramatic.

Everyone around her was staring, caught in a trance. Haydelynn raised an eyebrow and snorted, knowing that they were the type to think they were the best there.

"The Jenifer(s)," she looked to the side to see Jo and Camille walking back towards her and throwing themselves on the pool chairs on either side of her.

"Jenifer(_s_)." Haydelynn repeated, not understanding the meaning of the 's' at the end.

Jo rolled her eyes as the three walked by, throwing the girls an "I'm-so-much-better-than-you" glare before sticking their noses up in the air and strutting off, their hands flying up to tell a couple of guys trying to approach them to step off. "They sing, act, _and_ dance, and think they're all that because of it. And they're all named Jenifer."

"The three of them?"

Camille nodded. "Isn't it weird how three people can be so perfect for each other _and_ carry the same name?"

Haydelynn laughed. "Uh, kinda."

So that was another group to add to the list, the Jenifer(s): the three girls that could supposedly do everything and put themselves at the top of the food chain.

Wow.

"Well, anyways," Jo changed the subject, turning to Haydelynn. "There's an open mic tonight, and everyone always goes. You in?"

Haydelynn hesitated, shaking her head as she opened her mouth to answer.

"The boys from BTR are gonna be there," Camille added, as if that was reason enough to go (which, in her mind, it probably was.). "They're the only ones who are being forced to sing, you don't have to."

Haydelynn couldn't help but smile, half from the relief of not having to sing. "Why are you forcing them to sing?"

The brunette shrugged. "Well, technically, in order to sing, you have to sign up, but no one ever does and we always end up having like eight people sing by the end of the night."

"Big Time Rush are the only dumb ones who actually make it official and don't have a choice once they sign their names." Jo laughed.

"Yeah, I figured." Haydelynn nodded.

"So, you going?" Camille pressed, nodding encouragingly.

"Um…"

"Haydelynn!" she jumped at the sudden yell of her name, and looked across the pool to see Carlos waving an arm over his head, smiling apologetically.

She smiled softly and waved.

"Speak of the devil…" Camille snickered, following her gaze. Haydelynn chuckled with her and before she knew it, the four members of Big Time Rush were standing over her.

Haydelynn craned her neck to look at their faces. If she felt short _standing_ next to James and Kendall, then she felt like a dwarf while she was seated comfortably on her pool chair.

"Whoa, guys, back it up, the girl needs breathing space!" Jo reached out and grabbed the first thing she could, which ended up being Kendall's shirt. She pulled him back, causing him to topple onto her legs on the pool chair.

Haydelynn watched as both of them looked at each other and blushed before Kendall hopped up and fixed his shirt. Yeah, there was something going on there, but it was none of her business, so she didn't press it.

The remaining three boys took a small step back and Haydelynn smiled as she stood up, facing the Latino and crossing her arms, feigning a pout. "You guys ditched me."

Every single smile around her fell, and Carlos' eyebrows stitched together in apology. Logan rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and coughed while James only stared at her uneasily. Kendall sighed and looked down with a low, "It was Carlos' fault."

"Was _not_!" the Latino defended himself, only not so defensively.

"You didn't tell us until you noticed we were late." Logan muttered, elbowing his friend in the ribs.

Carlos nudged him back, and Haydelynn watched in amusement as a whole mini fight broke out. James leaned back to avoid being hit and she looked at Camille with raised eyebrows, and the method actress only rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as well. Haydelynn reached out for Carlos' arm, and the small fight between both of them abruptly stopped as she roughly pulled the tan arm towards her until the bright red watch on his wrist was in direct eye contact.

"It's ten forty-five." she said it like a teacher reprimanding her student for arriving late to class. "You said nine."

He sighed. "I know, but Gustavo called in early and we practiced the same song for _hours_, and he was being a jerk and Kendall tried to compromise—"

"Which didn't work," Logan squeezed in.

"Yeah, and then Gustavo got mad and made us sing and harmonize for _two more hours_—"

"In _eight_ different pitches," James groaned, not wanting to remember.

"Well, yeah and then we got here and we were tired and sucking on cough drops and then Camille and Jo come in and talk about the open mic and then about you and then I remembered and…"

She tried to keep the amused smile off her face as he stopped to take a deep breath after the fast explanation, she really didn't care whether they showed up or not, but seeing them all with their funny expressions was priceless, and she couldn't help it, no matter how evil it seemed.

"We're sorry," they chorused, and she found it ridiculous how they could do that. Just randomly say something at the same exact time. It was kind of weird, but she expected it from these guys.

Haydelynn looked at Jo and Camille before the three of them burst into laughter, leaving the four of them to stand there with confused expressions.

"What's so funny?" James demanded.

Haydelynn shook her head and held a finger up at him. "You should see your faces. They're hilarious." She took a deep breath and calmed herself. "But seriously, I understand. I don't really care if you're late or never show up. You're a busy group."

"I can't believe you actually fell for that," Jo giggled, high fiving Haydelynn.

"So you _can_ act," Camille nodded approvingly and bumped her fist against Haydelynn's.

The four boys only stared at her, their mouths handing open and their eyes narrow, which only made her laugh a little more. "We thought you hated us or something." Carlos shook his head, a smile breaking out on his face too.

She rolled her eyes. "Please, I'm not the kind to fight with someone because they were late for a get together or anything." She smiled and nudged him playfully. He didn't nudge back, like he would've done to Logan, but instead dramatically stumbled backwards and laughed.

Just then, the sound of a palm connecting painfully with skin broke out, and Haydelynn gasped and froze when she turned and saw Logan's face turned sharply to the side, his cheek a bright red. Camille stood in front of him, her hand being the one who had slapped him.

"Camille!" she screamed, taking a step forward to help Logan. James grabbed her arm and pulled her back, looking down at her and telling her to calm down. "How am I supposed to calm down? She just—"

And when she turned back to look at them, Camille grabbed Logan's face and pulled him in for a kiss, colliding their lips together despite Logan's feeble attempts to escape her grasp. After a couple of seconds, she pulled away and brought her other hand to his other cheek before smiling contently and skipping over to Haydelynn ,enveloping her in a friendly hug. "I have in audition now, so see you guys later!" then she skipped away.

Haydelynn stared after her with wide eyes, gaping as she happily bounced away. Logan chuckled and reached up to rub his cheek, waving a hand in front of Haydelynn's face.

Haydelynn turned to look at him. "Uh…"

Everyone laughed. "That's Camille for you," Kendall shook his head.

"But she just… and then she… and…" she tried to make sense of it, gesturing widely with her hands, and James had to step back to avoid being slapped himself.

"Camille… is a special person," Jo told her, smiling. "It takes a while to understand her."

"You mean to understand _why _she slaps someone, kisses them, slaps them _again_, announces she has an audition, and leaves?"

Jo seemed to think about it for a minute, her brown eyes drifting to the sky before her shoulders lifted in a shrug and she laughed. "Yep."

"Why? Does she do it to all the guys or something?"

"Nope, just Logan." Carlos answered this time, and Logan swore that if Haydelynn's eyebrows could have gone any higher, they would have.

Logan shrugged. "Kendall also gets an occasional slap or two."

Haydelynn spluttered a bit more and scoffed before she realized. "Oh!" she gasped, holding up a finger. "I get it now! She _likes_ you doesn't she?"

Kendall raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Wow, I think that's the fastest anyone has ever figured it out."

Carlos, James, and Jo nodded while Logan rolled his eyes. Haydelynn giggled. "I'm gonna give the woman some props though, she has some serious courage."

More laughs broke out between their little group before fizzling out and letting a blanket of awkward silence fall over them. Logan rubbed at his cheeks some more, easing out some of the sting, trying to figure out why every time Camille pulled one of her stunts he was more pleasantly surprised then the last time. Kendall and Jo were talking through some weird language Haydelynn didn't understand that had to do with facial expressions, a raise of the eyebrows here, causing a flare of the nostrils there, and then a nudge from Jo. James had turned around suddenly, taking advantage of having Haydelynn's back to him to pull out his lucky comb and comb his hair. Carlos looked down at his feet.

"Alright," Haydelynn decided to break the silence. "So, am I gonna get a tour of the _Palm Woods_ or not?"

Everyone perked up and James whirled around, sneakily tucking his comb into his back pocket and throwing Haydelynn a dazzling grin. They all nodded and shrugged.

Haydelynn giggled and linked her arms with Carlos and Logan. "Lead the way!"

* * *

By the time they finished, Haydelynn knew her way around the _Palm Woods_ backwards and forwards. The Big Time Rush guys were totally obsessed with doing reckless things, and they even ended up convincing Haydelynn and Jo to get into and sliding down the _Palm Woods_ air vent.

"You guys are insane." She chortled; taking a sip from her smoothie after Logan had taken out a "Free smoothies for a month" and insisted that raspberry smoothies were the best thing to have after a long day of 'irresponsibility' (as Carlos had taken to calling it). Jo had left for an interview and said she would see them at the open mic.

They laughed and nodded. "I think we might be." Kendall agreed.

Logan held up his smoothie and grinned. "To insanity!"

His friends had immediately mimicked him, and after a second thought from Haydelynn, she, too, bumped her plastic cup against theirs' and taken a violent swig from her drink, leaving a thick smoothie stash on her upper lip.

"Hey," Kendall reached across the table. "You got a little…"

She squealed when his hand dipped into her cup and smeared more smoothie against her face before falling back onto his chair, smiling contently to himself.

"Didya get it?" she rolled her eyes.

"Yep."

"Oh yeah?" she scooped some more of her pink drink and flicked it at him.

He laughed and reached into his own cup and threw it at her. She screamed and grabbed James, who was sitting beside her, pushing him in front of her and using him as a shield. James laughed and tried to move back, when he felt something cold and wet in his hair.

Haydelynn gasped and let go at once, her hand coming up to her mouth to contain her giggles as she looked up at James, his hair wet with the sticky liquid, matted to the side of his face, completely throwing off the whole look.

James' smile disappeared and he glared hard at his blonde friend. "You did _not_ just get that in my hair."

Kendall's eyes were wide.

"No, no," Haydelynn spoke up, and James turned to her with raised eyebrows. She shrugged before using his perfect, soft hair to wipe her smoothie infested hands. "I did."

James' eyes went wide as hockey pucks and he took the top off of his own smoothie cup, pulling it back, intending to toss the entire cup at her.

But instead, the backwards motion of his arm caused the cup to slip from his fingers and land right in Logan's lap, where he yelped and jumped up, the drink already oozing into the front of his pants.

James tried not to laugh. "Oops."

"Oh, I'll show you 'oops'…" Logan said before throwing all the contents of his own cup out towards James, who moved out of the way, causing most of it to land on his chair. A bit of it splattered onto Haydelynn's arms, and she looked up, her face totally serious.

"Okay, guys, we had our fun. Now, I _really_ don't want to be covered in smoothie, okay? I had enough of that yesterday." She directed the last part to Carlos, who smirked.

The guys nodded and Logan and James found some new chairs to sit in.

"Thank you," Haydelynn smiled, but before she could settle herself into her seat, Carlos had tipped his cup over and caused all of his own drink to pour all over her.

Haydelynn squealed and she glared at him with her mouth hanging open.

"That's it!"

Suddenly, a whole smoothie fight had broken out. The five of them ran around, grabbing any cup they could lay their hands on and pouring it on each other. Soon enough, Haydelynn was completely soaked once again, but she didn't mind. She had a huge grin on her face as she turned a banana smoothie on Carlos' head and watched the yellow liquid ooze down his face, giggling uncontrollably as he challenged her and took a huge sip of a random drink before spitting it at her face.

James took this as his chance to grab her arms and pin them behind her while Logan and Kendall came with their cups and overturned them on her head, causing her to squeal and shake her hair out like a dog, smiling as the four guys around her were splattered with smoothie.

Soon the entire lobby was into it. Innocent bystanders that were splattered with the drink gasping and grabbing their own, throwing it at someone else. After a while, everything and everybody was covered in smoothie, and were slipping on the juice covering the floor. Laughs echoed through the hotel, as well as squeals.

"Surrender!" James boomed, lifting Haydelynn off of her feet and holding her up as Carlos, Logan and Kendall scoured for drink to throw at her.

"Never!" she laughed, kicking her feet.

"_What is this?_" Every single person occupying the lobby froze, and about thirty empty or half-empty smoothie cups were dropped to the floor. James set Haydelynn on her feet and the four Big Time Rush boys took a step in front of her, almost protectively. She seemed to disappear from sight behind the four of them.

Mr. Bitters stood under the doorway of his office, eyes bulging out of their sockets behind his glasses. His jaw was practically hitting the floor, and the huge sandwich in his hand slipped from his fingers, landing in a puddle of orange goo, where it splattered all over the legs of his pants.

Quiet couldn't even begin to describe the noise in the lobby.

"I _demand_ to know who started this!" the fat man boomed, his head darting around looking for guilty faces. His face fell as he realized the only possible culprits. "_You!_" a large finger was wagged towards the four boys standing in front of the now-invisible Haydelynn.

Carlos closed his eyes and tipped his head back, praying for mercy. Logan tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace. James glanced back and moved slightly to the side, making sure he covered Haydelynn completely. Kendall opened his mouth to say something.

"First, you organize a _Palm Woods_ wide pillow fight, then, you put a giant squid in the _Palm Woods_ pool," the hotel manager counted off, the boys flinching back every time a finger was held up. "_Then_, you get away with throwing a hotel wide _party_, and now _this?_" He glared hard at each of them, his face a tomato red.

"It wasn't them!" a small voice exclaimed, and Mr. Bitters looked around, searching for the source of it.

Haydelynn forcefully pushed her way through James and Carlos, and threw the fat man the most innocent smile she could manage.

"You," he sneered, and she bit her lip. "You're the daughter of my new assistant manager."

She nodded feebly.

"Are you covering for these boys?"

She shook her head. "I started it." Her words rang true, and Kendall's stomach dropped guiltily, knowing that she was lying, considering he had been the first to smear smoothie on her face.

Mr. Bitters studied her for a minute, trying to decide whether she was telling the truth or not.

* * *

"I kinda like it there," Haydelynn raised an eyebrow as James cocked his head to the side and squinted, looking up at her door with his arms crossed.

"And on the second day," Kendall nodded, rubbing his chin.

"That's a record." Logan said with admiration.

Carlos grinned and held his fist out, where Haydelynn rolled her eyes and bumped it with her own. "Congrats, Haydelynn. You made _Palm Woods_ history!"

Haydelynn laughed, following their gazes up to the door of apartment 5F, where a large red X with Bitters' face on it was now glued to it. "So, was a _Palm Woods_ wide smoothie fight worth getting a strike for?"

All four of them nodded simultaneously.

The X had been glued to the door about an hour earlier; after Bitters decided Haydelynn was telling the truth when taking the blame and warning her that if she got two more strikes, she would be out of the _Palm Woods_. After quickly taking a shower and changing out of her smoothie covered clothes, she had met up again with the boys to admire her work.

"You have my upmost respect, Miss Haydelynn." Logan bowed formally, and she laughed, lifting her hands up in the air and pretending to curtsy.

"Why thank you, Sir Logan." She giggled. "I try, I try." Her eyes landed on the coupon hanging out of his jacket pocket. "But it sucks that we were banned from any smoothie stand within a three mile radius of the _Palm Woods_."

"Yeah," the boys sighed.

"But it was _so_ worth it," Carlos guffawed.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

All of a sudden, the front door was yanked open and the five of them were faced with a _really_ pissed off woman. Her long, dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, slick at the front, but completely crazy curly in the back. She wore a mean power suit, looking nice and sharp, the small name plate pinned to her shirt reading "Assistant Manager". Her eyes were congruent to Haydelynn's, even as she glared sharply at all of them. Her lips were painted a deep mahogany red, and were pulled back in a grimace. Her face was of a mature woman in her 30's, though her laugh lines made her look a bit older.

Haydelynn never really realized how pretty her mother actually was until she realized the deep trouble she was in.

Everyone straightened up at once, and Haydelynn winced when her mother raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms. Evelynn Ramirez wasn't exactly known to be a "quiet" talker when it came to reprimanding her daughter.

"Hey, mom…" she greeted hesitantly, weakly raising her hand to wave.

Her mom didn't say anything, only stared coldly.

"Uh, this is Big Time Rush…" she decided she might as well introduce them. "Carlos, James, Kendall, and Logan." She called them out by order of which they were standing, and each boy waved feebly and gulped when their name was said. "I was just—"

"Inside," Evelynn commanded, her tone low and menacing, and Haydelynn's mouth shut at once. "_Now_."

Haydelynn nodded before turning to the boys. "I would suggest you run," she whispered to Carlos, who swallowed and nodded in agreement.

"See you later." They all murmured before turning and walking off, leaving Haydelynn to the rath of her mother.

Evelynn's eyes followed her daughter as she squeezed past her and settled herself on the couch of their new apartment, bringing her legs up and crossing them. Her tall black heels were loud against the wooden floors as she made her way over to the living room, stopping just in front of the guilty teen.

"Have I ever told you how pretty you are?" Haydelynn said innocently.

"Would you care to explain why, as I was in the process of evicting a resident, my boss called me to yell at me about how my 'careless, irresponsible, brat of a daughter' was causing havoc in the lobby _throwing smoothies around_?" her compliment was completely ignored, and Haydelynn mimicked her mother's pose as she was being scolded.

"I was simply having fun."

"'Having fun' does _not_ imply damaging a hotel lobby." Her mother's voice was slowly getting higher, and Haydelynn clenched her jaw.

"I didn't _damage_ anything."

"_Who_ in their right _mind_ would toss cups of smoothies around for fun?" she was reaching her point by now, and Evelynn's yells scratched at Haydelynn's eardrums.

"I could name a couple of people." Haydelynn tried her best to withhold it, but she couldn't help the smirk that spread across her face when her mother's glare intensified.

"I can assure you that I was completely shocked when I found out you of all people were one to start a smoothie fight, Haydelynn. What has gotten into you? It's only you're second day here and you have already been warned that if you keep at it we will be kicked out!"

"I was having fun, Mom!" it was Haydelynn's turn to shout. "Don't you realize that? When was the last time I came home with a _smile_? So, I got in trouble, but I made friends, I had fun with those friends. Shouldn't you be rubbing the fact that you were right and I _do_ like it here in my face and not yelling at me?"

Her mother stared at her for a minute, green eyes narrowed and her jaw tight. "The next time I hear that you got a strike, you will be in _serious_ trouble."

"Fine." The teenager shrugged.

Her mother gave her one last cold glare before turning on her heels and stomping out of the door, slamming it violently behind her, causing a flinch from Haydelynn. She rolled her eyes before reaching onto the coffee table for her book.

_John bought me a pair of skates today. I told him not to, since I have no idea how to skate, but he was insistent. I didn't know if I should have been mad at him or completely thankful when I entered my cabin to find the prettiest ivory white ice skates on my bed. Amy keeps telling me that he likes me, but I doubt it. Why would John, the handsome, sweet, funny camp counselor like me? _

She sighed, thinking of a hundred different answers to this question, but unable to answer directly.

_I'm just the little girl from Florida who has never seen snow in her entire life and spends all of her time scribbling down in a notebook. He's more of the out there type. He'd rather die than pick up a pen and write or read. I'm not his type… and I can totally see you shaking your head right now and rolling your eyes, saying something like, "You're totally wrong Sophie, stop being so clueless." _She admits that she would have said that before. _But I guess that's your job as the big sister. _

She closed the book again.

"My job as the big sister," she murmured to herself, standing up and pulling a hand through her hair. "Was not letting you go to that pond."

She knew no one would answer, because she had proven to herself that no one ever did. Two years ago, she would have expected a head of curly hair to pop out from behind the kitchen counter and say something like, "Stop blaming yourself for everything, Haydy. It's annoying."

But two years had passed, her family had broken apart, her parents had changed.

_She _had changed.


End file.
